The Days of Lore

Black Friday: The Big 3®

Friday, February 4th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | 4 Comments

Forget The Big 4. While I admit this is a(n) historic event for headbangers around the globe, personally the thought of dropping 100 bucks to see Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth … well, it doesn’t sound like a terrible thing (I’d probably pay $100 just to see Slayer). Wait, yes it does.

This, on the other hand, sounds like a terrific thing: For a third of the price I could go see Motörhead, Clutch and Valient Thorr, a show that’s guaranteed to rock harder (and not feel contrived and gross), and include about a third of the shirtless assholes in the audience. We all win.

Of The Big 3® mentioned above, I will always have a soft spot for the much balder, beardier Clutch (pictured), whose first three records received countless spins in my soft and squishy formidable years. I saw these riff machines lay waste to a tiny club back in 2001. And I’ve recently revisited my two favorites—The Elephant Riders and their self-titled—which still make me giddy. Pair this band with Valient Thorr and Motörhead, and you have yourself some true metal (at least some heavy, blues-based rock) up your ass. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Motörhead, Clutch and Valient Thorr play Saturday, Feb. 5 at Roseland Theater.

“Motorhead” - Motörhead

“Spacegrass” - Clutch

“Double-Crossed” - Valient Thorr

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: Anthrax, Clutch, Megadeth, Metallica, Motörhead, Slayer, The Big 3, The Big 4, Valient Thorr

Black Friday: Sleigh’r—seasonal in the abyss

Friday, October 22nd, 2010 | musiX | No Comments

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”—Benjamin Franklin

“God hates us all, God hates us all/You know it’s true God hates this place, you know it’s true he hates this race”—Slayer

The Days of Lore has come a long way (a looooong way) from that day of yore slamming a warm Bud Light 40-ouncer in the parking lot of Arco Arena while waiting to see Metallica play songs from the Black Album. Living in Chico for so many years (where Sierra Nevada in made) and now the sexy, hip beer mecca of Portland it’s hard to swig the swill … OK, I have returned on more than one occasion to my roots (more successfully than Metallica), and sipped a Budweiser or three—it is the King of Beers, after all.

Lately I’ve been diving into the seasonal abyss of winter beers: A tasty holiday IPA from Hopworks, a delicious, malty number called Jubelale from Deschutes (where are you, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale?), and Ninkasi’s Sleigh’r Dark Doüble Alt Ale, available on tap and in 22-ounce bottles. Unlike a beer I tried recently called “War Pigs” that came served with a fucking lemon wedge, Sleigh’r actually delivers on its name—it’s black as night, kind of evil (7.2 percent ABV), and if you drink too many your entire next day will feel like hell on Earth. That said, I look forward to letting out a mighty Dickinson wail when Ninkasi’s Maiden the Shade comes out next summer. I think Sierra Nevada should get in on the action … perhaps Bock and Roll All Nite? I kinda like it.

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: beer, Black Friday, Jubelale, Metallica, Ninkasi, Portland, Sierra Nevada, Slayer, Sleigh'r

Black Friday (the 13th): Slayer still slays

Friday, November 13th, 2009 | musiX | 2 Comments

How can the members of Slayer—now in their mid-40s—still manage to scare the shit out of me? I don’t know, but let’s look at the rest of the Big Four, shall we? Metallica: Harmless. Megadeth: Whiny. Anthrax: Bush-less.

Yes, Slayer still brings it—and in the almost 30 (!) years they’ve been around, have not so much as twitched as new trends and new bands and new serial killers and new wars and new presidents have come and gone. The latest World Painted Blood sounds like it could have been released during the Reagan administration … except, thankfully, it’s the Obama administration … and Oliver North is reporting for Fox News instead of, ya know, lying to Congress.

So. Slayer. I guess the only time critics have complained about the band veering from its direct path to Hell was ironically during Divine Intervention and Diabolus In Musica. But, I say to hell with the critics. Those are great records. You can actually hear Tom Araya’s bass. And the drums sound like your head is inside the double-kick. And I actually liked Paul Bostaph, who replaced original drummer Dave Lombardo in 1992.

But I like Lombardo more. No one’s faster. At 44, he still pummels the skins like he did decades ago on “Angel of Death” and “War Ensemble” (Lombardo returned in 2006). The riffs still gallop at blinding speeds (see “Psychopathy Red”). Solos squeal like slaughtered pigs (the intro to “Snuff” … wow). And there’s still plenty of dark and creepy imagery courtesy of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, who I think these days are just trying to out-gross one another. Which is what fans want. I mean, metal is the only category of music where exploration and experimentation are not welcome … see where it got Metallica.

Above all, Slayer still pulls it off convincingly—probably because they/we don’t know any differently. Put them next to Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth and it’s like sicking a pit bull on a chihuahua … which, if I’m not mistaken, was the inspiration behind the song “Silent Scream.”

“Psychopathy Red” - Slayer

“Hate Worldwide” - Slayer

Tags: Anthrax, Black Friday, Dave Lombardo, Diabolus In Musica, Divine Intervention, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, The Big Four, Tom Araya, World Painted Blood

Black Friday: Jonah rocks

Friday, September 25th, 2009 | musiX | 1 Comment

You thought (hoped) Black Friday was dead and gone. HA! It just moved underground for a few weeks.

I found this at MetalSucks (which is where I get a lot of my weird and random metal goodies that don’t involve me writing about Slayer or KISS or Mastodon).

There’s this 4-year-old kid named Jonah who can smack the skins better than a lot of the drummers he’s imitating (I’m talking to you, Lars). The li’l guy apparently chooses all the songs he plays and even has his own Web site, fittingly titled Jonah Rocks. Jonah can be seen playing along to bands that have some of the best drummers of all time (Peart?! Moon?!), as well as a few metal masterpieces from Metallica and System Of a Down. Impressive. Makes me want a kid or two … wait, did I just say that out loud? Ahem … here are a few of my favorites:

Metallica - “Harvester of Sorrow”

System of a Down - “Chop Suey”

The Who - “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

KISS - “Rock and Roll All Nite”

Van Halen - “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”

Tags: Jonah Rocks, KISS, Metallica, System Of a Down, The Who, Van Halen

The return of Black Friday! Umm …

Friday, August 7th, 2009 | musiX | 1 Comment

Metallica could probably benefit from having this fellow sing backup. Fifty bucks if you make it all the way through.

It’s been a long fortnight. Be prepared for a full platter of TDoL next week.

Courtesy of Metal Injection.

Tags: "Nothing Else Matters", Metallica, old Indian man

Black Friday: Reading between the lines

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | musiX | 3 Comments

Historically in metal, a band’s image is as (if not more) important as the music itself. From the band’s name, to its garb, right down to the logo. Alice Cooper and KISS were better-known for what they looked like than the music they made (more true with the latter). When metal ruled in the late ’70s and the ’80s, it was all about image … until it regressed to absurdity before finally getting smothered by the always-fashionable flannel shirt.

The Me Decade is when the metal logo was truly birthed—a single, defining brand that could be easily seen and recognized on records, posters and, most importantly, T-shirts. Bands like Motörhead and Judas Priest went with classically ornate logos, while the aforementioned KISS chose a simple, very memorable signature lighting-bolt “SS” (turned into backwards “ZZ” when the band toured Germany). It carried over into the ’80s when it was all about the logo—Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, RATT, Anthrax, Dio, Def Leppard, AC/DC—all of which could be found scrawled on notebooks and in bathroom stalls, or crudely written or carved on school desktops … or so I’ve heard.

The tradition carries on today. In metal if you don’t have a tough/menacing logo, you might as well be playing Showtunes. Especially in black metal. In fact, in the world of black metal a band’s logo might be the first, and sometimes only, identifying element. It doesn’t even have to be legible for chrissakes, as bands are seemingly trying to one-up each other in keeping their names a mystery to the world.

So. For this Black Friday, I’ve scoured the bottomless pit of the Interwebs to find the most unruly, tangled, illegible band logos possible. It is your duty to try to decipher them. I’ll post one new logo per day (not including Saturday and Sunday) through Thursday, June 25. Shoot your answers to me at mark@thedaysoflore.com. The person who guesses the most band names correctly out of five will win a classic metal album of my choosing. Yes, this means all five people who both listen to metal and read TDoL have a chance to win a disc. It will, of course, be an incredible metal masterpiece.

Deadline is midnight (PDT), Thursday, June 25, and the winner will be announced next Black Friday. It will take a keen eye. It might also help in some cases to be fluent in Finnish.

Ridiculously unreadable band logo No. 1: This band comes from—you guessed it—Finland. They enjoy long walks in the snow, and their lyrics are as unintelligible as their logo.

Tags: AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Anthrax, Black Friday, Def Leppard, Exodus, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, KISS, metal band logos, Metallica, Motörhead, RATT, Slayer

Black Friday: Lego my Ulrich

Friday, June 12th, 2009 | musiX | 1 Comment

Someone with a lot of time on their hands put this vid together of friendly, always-smiling Lego men doing a rendition of Metallica’s “Whiplash.” There are even pyrotechnics. It’s like something I would have done as a kid if I had a camera and patience; except it would have been with KISS … and I probably would never have finished.

Tags: "Whiplash", Black Friday, Lego, Metallica